Wednesday, June 23, 2010

I wanted to finish reading the Rolling Stone article http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/119236 before I made any comments on the McChrystal situation. Having done so now, I would like to pose this question to you: How do you keep at it year in and year out? Eighteen hour days (sometimes probably a lot longer), seven days a week for years on end – just how do you keep the momentum to live a life like this?

Have you ever been a General? Have you ever been a Lieutenant or a Captain or a Major or a Colonel for that matter? I have held a few of those ranks and know what the days//weeks//months turn into after a period of time. It’s not pretty and it’s not something that those who don’t have the right make-up would never be able to hold up to – not even a little bit. This is just what is facing Gen McChrystal and Gen Petraeus and their staffs and have been now for some nine years ongoing.

The President said in the Rose Garden after accepting Gen McChrystal’s resignation today: He had “great respect” for the General who had “earned a reputation” as a fighter. But the “war is bigger than any one man or woman” and the “conduct did not meet the standard of a Commanding General” and it “erodes the trust.’ There has to be a “adherence to a strict code of conduct.” We have to “hold ourselves accountable “ to a “unity of effort across the national security team.” Overall this will be “a change in personnel, not a change in policy.”

Both Gen McChrystal and senior members of his staff said things (as quoted in Rolling Stone) that are totally inappropriate for members of the military to utter to anyone, especially after having sworn the oath that each has done. It was out of line and they deserve what comes their way.

This was not a case of McChrystal against the administration. This is all about the oath of office that they swore to.

Remember what Charles de Gaulle once said: “The graveyards are full of indispensable men.”

To me it’s black and white. Make up your own mind:

The Oath of Office (for officers):

"I, _____ (SSAN), having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance tot he same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God."

The Oath of Enlistment (for enlistees):

"I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

All this just because an Ump missed a call. It’s happened before and will happen again. We’ve probably all seen it; possibly more than once.

Any more whining and you are on the bench. We don’t need no stinkin’ replays in baseball.

For over a hundred years, we have done without replays and the game has gotten along fine. Adding replays to the game will only make it longer – a problem with only the short-sighted of us who think it goes on too long already. The game is perfect just as it is – well, maybe except for that pesky designated hitter rule in the junior circuit. That could still use some fixin’.

The game renews itself every day.

While we are at it; lets don’t go off on a tangent and decide there’s a need for an asterisk while we are at this point in time. We don’t need any stinkin’ asterisk in the record book – ‘nuff said.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Oil leak – Has anybody really got a handle on this situation. We all know who should be in-charge. Obama has said that the Government is but they sure haven’t shown that they are.

Arizona Law – Who do we believe? I believe we all know that the Government – Democrats and Republicans alike – has not moved to control immigration, nor does it look like they ever will.

Texas School Books – How can a state allow “voted out” elected officials make any real decisions on what the up-coming school children will be studying in the future; especially the way the votes indicated the public felt? The Legislature must move to correct this next January OR we should move to correct them at next opportunity. Elections should mean something and have impact on the agenda.

Don’t ask – Don’t tell – Congress has moved ahead with speed that has outpaced the military leadership’s study on implementation. I support the “open serving of members of the military” as it has always been there regardless of what the Leadership – Congress – the President said or believed. Anyone with a different viewpoint should extract their head from the sand and get on with business. This has a ways to go yet and we still haven’t seen all the “heads rolling//moving on” that will eventually take place.

Book Cover - There's a Moose in the Guard Shack

Welcome

Discussing things that interest me or that I have an opinion on and want to share.

I have recently published a book on Leadership: “There’s a Moose in the Guard Shack” that entails a group of stories that took place to and around me during my career in the military and manufacturing arenas. The book details the true events and the lessons that I took away from them.

Often humorous, the stories remain as true as the day they happened—there’s a lot to learn from the interaction between leaders and the people they influence; knowledge often travels both directions.

About Me

Recently retired and taking
opportunities as they come. I have somewhat random thoughts on leadership, the
local Community and State un-governments, the National Government and about
anything and everything that takes place in the world that seems fit to be
commented on. Currently spending a great deal of time writing on leadership and
management and my life's adventures in both. I attend to an uncommonly amount
of family activities almost daily and whatever else comes up.